


In The Shadows of Twilight (Temporarily on hiatus)

by Diamond_Dragon_Queen



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Maybe some smut down the road, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:06:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 23,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22179790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diamond_Dragon_Queen/pseuds/Diamond_Dragon_Queen
Summary: What happened if not all of the Sheikah died out? What happened if there was one that was there to help the Hero of Twilight during his adventures? Maybe, just maybe our hero wouldn't have been so sad to see Midna go. And maybe, things would have been just a hair easier for him with a companion that was actually helpful.
Relationships: Link/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Legend of Zelda or any of the characters, aside from my OC.

In the land of Hyrule, there is a legend, about a people who live in the shadows. It is said that these people are the guardians of the royal family. It was also long rumored that the Princess of Hyrule had trained with these people, though that is a story for another time. These people are called the Sheikah, and though their number was once thought to be in the hundreds, now only a handful remain. And though they still serve the Royal family of Hyrule, they remain isolated, out of sight and fading from knowledge of the rest of Hyrule. This is where our story begins.

"Kas!" The girl's ear twitched at the call, but she did not stir from her place of meditation. "Kas!" The voice called again, louder this time. "KASSAN!"

With a sigh, the girl slowly opened her eyes. Her cousin was nearing her hiding place, though he obviously didn't see her yet. Standing slowly to not disturb the shadows, she quickly moved through the hand-signs that would allow her to slip behind her cousin unnoticed, so as not to give away her sanctuary. Appearing behind her cousin, she barely contained the smirk as he jumped. "What is it now?"

"WAH!" He spun around, hands coming up into a defensive position, before heaving a sigh. "I wish you wouldn't scare me like that."

"And I wish you would leave me alone when I'm trying to meditate." Kas huffed before leaning against a nearby rock. "Now what do you want?"

He frowned at her attitude before shrugging. "The elder wants to see you. Sent me to find you."

Her eyes narrowed. "The elder? What for?"

"She didn't say." He turned to head back to the center of their isolated village. "Anyway, she looked concerned about something, so I wouldn't keep her waiting if I were you." With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sighing, she stood, and stepped into the shadows, silent as the night. She stepped out of the shadows inside the elder’s home. Quickly she dropped to a knee as was tradition and expected. "You wished to see me, Elder?"

Impaz was the oldest of the remaining Sheikah. So old that she remembered a time when the numbers of the tribe were still nearly a hundred and remembered clearly the days when the Sheikah would keep a member of their clan in Hyrule castle at all times. Those days have long since passed, but they have always maintained that all the Royal family need do is call, and they would come. Impaz turned to Kas, slowly, scratching one of her many cats that she currently had cradled in her arms. "Ah, yes. Kassan. I understand you have completed your training?"

Kas' red eyes flashed up to meet those of the elder. "That's right. I need only take the final trial."

Impaz nodded. "Good. Unfortunately, that trial will need to be delayed until you return."

Confusion crossed Kas' face. "Return from where?"

Impaz released the cat from her arms. "I have been having strange dreams the last several days. Ill omens of things to come. I believe the Royal family will have need of us, and as you are the strongest of those of us that remain, you will be the one to go." She turned to retrieve a letter from her table, handing it to Kas. "When you arrive at the castle, go directly to the Princess. Give this to her. It will explain everything. Remain as long as is necessary. When you are no longer needed, return home."

Kas tucked the letter into one of her hidden inner pouches. "I understand. When do I leave?"

"As soon as you are ready."

Kas nodded. "Very well." She flew through the signs and disappeared.

"Good luck, child." Impaz whispered once she had departed.

Kas reappeared in her room. She quickly grabbed her armored bracers and greaves, tying them into place with practiced efficiency. Next, she grabbed her face wrap. It was forbidden for a Sheikah's full face to be seen outside of the village. Once the articles were in place, she was a blur, moving through her supplies, slipping weapons into their appropriate places, food and healing supplies were also packed. She knew there should be adequate access to water, so she only grabbed a single canteen, figuring that she didn't need to slow herself down with extra weight. Satisfied that she had everything she needed, she stepped into the shadows once more to leave the village. Once she was through the cave system, she stepped out of the shadows to conserve her strength. It was a long trip to Hyrule castle, and with as remote and barren as their village was, they didn't have any horses, meaning she would be on foot the entire way. Fortunately, much of the distance was laced with trees and mountain passes, where shadows would be extensive, enabling her to avoid any potential interaction before she reached the castle.


	2. Chapter 2

She was three days out from Hyrule Castle when it happened. Kas had been pushing hard to make it to the castle, as Impaz's warning had continued to echo in her mind. It was nearly mid-day when the sky suddenly began to dim. The shadows, which had always been Kas' friend, grew quickly and aggressively. She heard a deafening screech as pain resonated through her body, quickly leaving her unconscious.

Hours later, she slowly regained consciousness. She went to push herself up and yelped in shock when she saw paws instead of hands. Although her yelp came out more as a yowl. Eyes wide, she quickly inspected herself to find sleek black fur in place of her normal skin and clothing, topped off by a long tail. Near as she could tell, she was the size of a large mountain cat, though she had never seen a mountain cat with a coat as black as the one she wore. As she tried to let loose a string of curses, only a distinctly feline growl was heard. She didn't know what had happened, but she was afraid she knew where she would find answers. She set off toward the castle with renewed vigor, covering more ground than she had been before. As she continued along, she continued to encounter strange creatures that she had never seen before. Each time she saw then, her skin crawled, and she elected to avoid them, rather than to confront them, for now.

She was nearing the castle when she saw something strange, a wolf, with a strange little imp on its back. Without thinking, she yelled. "HEY!" She nearly startled herself when her voice came out as a loud yowl. She was more surprised when the wolf and the imp turned toward her. Slowing, letting her natural caution take over, she stopped several feet away from the strange pair, red eyes glowing in the strange light.

"Well, this is unexpected." The imp chattered with glee. "I would never have expected anyone else to be turned into a beast." The imp circled her cautiously. "I wonder if Zelda knew anything about this."

Kas' eyes shot open wide. "You know the princess?!" She tried to speak, again only coming out as a series of growls and yowls. At that, the wolf's head perked up, eyes focusing hard on Kas.

Then, the strangest thing that Kas had ever encountered. The wolf barked, but under the bark, she heard something more. "I can understand you." The voice was almost awed, and distinctly male.

Her own eyes narrowed as she tilted her head, curious. "And I can understand you." The wolf's eyes widened in shock. "How is possible?" She mused quietly to herself before shaking her head. She stepped closer to the wolf. "Do you know what is happening? What happened to the sky? Why are we like this? What is with the strange creatures I have seen?" She growled out a series of questions before the wolf could respond.

She finally stopped at his growl. "Take it easy." He then proceeded to tell her what he knew. He told her about the kids from his village being kidnapped, how he followed after them, encountered a strange looking wall, that he was pulled through, then felt pain and passed out. How he woke up in a cell, and how the imp, or Midna, as he later learned she was called, helped him escape and guided him to Princess Zelda. He told her how Hyrule had been attacked, and that the Princess surrendered to 'Twilight' in order to save the people. How the people themselves could at least exist as spirits in the Twilight, but that they would at least live. He said that there were things Midna wanted from him, but he wasn't exactly sure what those things were, so she was going to take him to his village, outside of the Twilight, while he figured it out, and that she was welcome to join them if she wished.

She snorted. "Just like that? You don't even know who I am."

He shook his head. "Not if you don't tell me. I guess I didn't tell you my name. It's Link."

Her red eyes narrowed, meeting his cerulean ones. "Kassan, but most people call me Kas."

"Kas, then." He nodded. "You should come with us."

She sighed. "I guess. If the Princess has sent you on this mission, I have no choice but to help you."

Finally, Link looked to Midna and barked. Kas heard him say that they were ready, but he had already told her that Midna didn't seem to be able to understand them. She at least seemed to be able to understand enough meaning to know they were ready. She plopped herself on Link's back. Link then set off in the direction of Ordon village. Kas glanced back toward the castle before following silently behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Kas was lost in her own thoughts when they finally stopped. In front of them was a large wall with strange characters on it. Link glanced back at her, not really sure what to do next. Midna giggled at their apparent confusion. "Well, only someone like me will be able to pass through here. What exactly are you going to do now?" She taunted gleefully. As Kas' eyes narrowed, a growl building in her throat, Midna finally continued. "I suppose I can take you through though." She refocused her attention on Kas. "BUT. It means you work for me. I think it's only fair, don't you?" Kas glanced at Link, before looking away from both, huffing a sigh. As Midna giggled, and moved toward her, she growled, baring her teeth at the imp. No way was she going to be the imp's pack animal. Accepting this, the imp glided through the wall as if it were made of water. Link and Kas glanced at each other again before an orange hand like appendage shot through the wall, grabbing first Link, and then Kas and dragging them through the wall.

When they reached the other side, Midna disappeared into their shadows, as there was no Twilight on the other side. Link glanced at Kas again, shrugging his large canine shoulders and set off toward his home village. Kas once again followed silently behind him. It was as they were passing a large spring that they heard a voice.

_"Wait. Come to my spring."_ They moved together silently toward the water, Kas hanging back just in case. Link padded into the shallow water of the spring as the voice continued. _"You have been transformed by the power of shadow. Come to me."_ Link glanced back at Kas, urging her to come forward. Silently she stepped into the spring as well. She had just come even with Link when a barrier surrounded them. _"Beware. A shadow being. It approaches."_

On instinct, Kas leapt back from Link, she looked up then, and saw what looked like a portal above them. One of the large creatures she had seen as she was travelling to the castle dropped between them. Moving quickly, Kas ran behind the creature while it's focus was on Link. She jumped onto the creatures back and latched her jaws around its neck. The creature howled, throwing her off, slamming her into the barrier that had appeared. As she struggled to stand from the daze of slamming into the wall, the creature turned its focus onto her and ambled toward her. She had just managed to clear her head when the creature grabbed her, lifting her into the air. As she struggled, Link did as she had done and latched his jaws around the creature. She had done enough damage with her first bite, that his more powerful jaws were able to finish the creature. As its howl trailed off with its death, its grip loosened enough that Kas dropped to the ground, landing on her feet. She quickly spun away to watch the creature break apart into apparent pieces of shadow.

With the creature gone, the spring became enveloped in light. The light came together in the form of a goat like creature with a large orb of pure light between its horns. The voice they had heard before spoke once more. _"O brave youth. I am one of the four light spirits that protect Hyrule at the behest of the gods. I am Ordona. The black beast you slayed was a shadow being. It had come to seize the power of light that I wield. My brethren in Hyrule have already had their light stolen by these fell beasts. The entire kingdom has been reduced to a netherworld ruled by the cursed power of darkness. The blight will not stop with Hyrule. Before long, the entire world of light will fall into the hand of the king who rules the twilight. To save this land from the king of twilight, the lost light must be recovered. The three light spirits who have lost their light must be revived. There is but one who can revive them and redeem this land."_ At this, the spirit brought its nose closer to Link. _"You. You still have not discovered your true power. Those transformed by twilight usually cannot recover their original forms."_ Kas' eyes widened in fear at those words. _"Unless. If you were to return to Faron Woods, where you were first transformed. If you were to revive the light spirit. There, by the power of the light spirit, you may find the means to regain your other state of being."_

The spirit then turned its attention to Kas. _"Brave warrior of the shadows. I do not know for what purpose you have been transformed as well. I can only presume that you are meant to aid this boy in his quest to save Hyrule. Across the ages your people have protected the land. But now you are the last. Perhaps that is why. Help him. Help Hyrule. I believe you will be able to regain your original form in much the same way. Farewell."_

With that, the spirit disappeared, the light from the spring dimming back to normal. Kas stood there, frozen. She was now the last? But that would mean her village... "Are you alright?" Link had stepped closer to her, nosing her shoulder, startling her.

She looked away. "I don't...know. Ordona made it sound like my village is gone now." She trailed off. He let her be for a moment before she turned back to him. "Come on. Let's go check on your village." She abruptly turned and stalked away from the spring. Link trotted to catch up to her, and slowly pulled up even with her, guiding her the rest of the way to his village.


	4. Chapter 4

As they neared the entrance, Midna came out of their shadows, still a shadow herself. "Before I take you back to the Twilight, I want you to find a sword and shield. My reasons are my own, just do it." She giggled again then and retreated to their shadows. By the time they had finished with Ordona and made it to the village, the sun had gone down, and the moon was just beginning to rise.

Kas turned to Link then. "Wait. If the people of your village are around, we should try to stay out of sight. I shouldn't have trouble blending in, but you will. Wait here a moment while I come up with a plan." With that, she turned, slinking toward the village, quickly disappearing into the darkness. The grass in the village was quite tall, she could easily move within without crouching. She figured that even with Links lighter coat, if he crouched in the grass, he would be difficult to see. Nodding to herself, she stalked back to Link. "Keep to the grass. Keep crouched. That should keep you from being noticed too much." She nodded to the entrance. "Lead the way."

"Kas, wait. I think I know where to find a sword. But I don't know where to find a shield. Our village is made up of farmers and fishermen mostly."

She thought for a moment. "Fine. We'll go for the sword first. Then we'll hope we can figure something else out."

Satisfied, Link nodded, then led the way into the village. They made it most of the way through the village when Link hesitated. Kas' tail twitched as she heard low voices. Not enough to make them out though. Link looked at her hard, then looked toward where the voices were coming from before moving toward them. They ran out of grass before they were close enough. Kas crouched, eyeing the shadows in the moonlight. Slowly, she crept across the small bridge that crossed the creek that ran through town. She made it across and into some shadowed grass before she was noticed. She crept closer and started to listen, unaware that Link was following her.

"So that shield is still in your house, right?" The first man stated.

"Yeah, it should be in our storage loft." The second replied.

"Good. Go grab it as quick as you can. Rusl got wounded pretty bad, so he can't search for the kids, so I'll take over."

"But Rusl had a sword, Mayor. And he STILL got hurt. If you're unarmed, you're done for."

About that time, Link joined her, rustling the grass next to her. The men turned toward the sound and saw Link. "Monster! Run for it!"

She turned to swat Link with a paw. "Dolt. You should have stayed where you were."

He rubbed his nose. "Did I hear them say Rusl is hurt?"

She sighed. "Yes, and apparently he has the sword we need to get. I also heard them say that there is a shield in a storage loft."

"Which one? Jaggle's or Bo's?"

She huffed. "I don't know. The one that called the other one Mayor?"

He nodded. "Jaggle. I'll lead you to the right building, but I'm not sure how we'll get inside and get the shield."

"Just leave that part to me."

He led her back around towards the entrance to the village. There was a hut with a water wheel positioned at the creek they had crossed. He nodded to it. About that time, they heard another yelp. "MONSTER! You've returned for more, haven't you! Bring our children back! Take this!" At that, he blew into a grass whistle. An eagle flew to him, landing on his arm before launching itself at them. Kas dodged to the right while Link went left. The eagle screeched and attacked again.

"Keep it busy!" Kas hissed. At his quick bark of assent, she melted into the shadows, searching for a way to shake the man off of his perch. The ground he was on was solid, but she thought she saw a series of jumps she could make to get up to his level. She leapt onto a nearby boulder, and from there to the roof of a nearby hut. From there was another pillar of ground between her and the man. She quickly crossed the distance, landing behind him with a growl. With a squeak, the man fell backwards off of the pillar, a small 'oof' marking his landing. It wasn't enough to seriously injure him, but enough that he would hurt for several days. Now down on Link's level, the man squeaked again, and ran for one of the nearby huts.

Link shot her a glare. "What? He'll be fine, and now we can finish what we came here for. Now wait there, I think I know how I'm going to get the shield. I'm far more agile than you, so I don't think you can make it from here." Without waiting for a response, she turned and leapt for the spoke of the water wheel. It was wet enough that she slipped, the only thing keeping her from falling was her claws digging into the wood, allowing her to pull herself up. From there, was an open window that should put her into the loft. She leapt once more, again, barely making the jump. Once she was inside, she crouched, lowering herself as much as she could and softly padded through the jumbled mess in the loft. She was just about ready to growl in frustration when she found it. It was wood, decent quality for the type of material used. She supposed it would have to do.

"That will do nicely I think." Midna's voice startled her. She was not used to being the one that was snuck up on. "I'll hold onto it for you for now." With that, she took the shield and disappeared once more into her shadow." Satisfied, she turned to head back to Link. Instead of making the risky jumps again, she edged herself easily back onto the water wheel, and leapt into the deeper water behind it. Quickly she swam to the shore of the creek, shaking herself off quietly.

"Midna has the shield. I assume you know where this Rusl is with the sword?"

He nodded before turning to follow the creek. As they neared the bridge again, they saw torchlight heading their direction. For a moment, Link started to head towards the light, his worry over his friends clear. He barely contained a yelp when Kas bit into his scruff, dragging him toward the shadows near the creek. The creek wound back behind the hut. Quietly, Kas hissed at him. "Are you stupid? I know they are your friends and you're concerned, but you can't do anything like this."

He dropped his head in shame. "Sorry Kas. I wasn't thinking." At her nod of acceptance, he looked around trying to figure out how he could get inside Rusl and Uli's house when something caught his eye. A soft patch of dirt near the corner of the house. He nudged Kas' shoulder. "There. That dirt is pretty soft. I might be able to dig under there to get inside."

She turned up her nose. "Then do it. I refuse to dig around in the dirt like that." She sat down then and waited for him to get to work. When he returned, she assumed that Midna had taken the sword from Link the same way she had taken the shield from her. She silently turned to make her way out of the village. She paused when she noticed Link hesitating. "There's nothing we can do for them like this. You remember what the spirit said. If we restore the light spirit of Faron woods, we may be able to regain our normal forms. Then we can come tend to your people." With that, she continued back toward the wall of Twilight. As before, Midna went through first, then reached through to bring them through.


	5. Chapter 5

Once they were on the other side, Kas could hear something she couldn't before. A high-pitched keening sound. She figured it must be the spirit they needed to save. They continued deeper into the woods before they were surrounded by another magical barrier. This time, three of the shadow creatures dropped in with them. Now that Kas had fought them once, she knew what she needed to do. She growled at Link to split up and made for the first creature. Like with the last one they had fought, she leapt on its back, sinking her teeth into its neck. This time, she was ready, and flipped off of the creature before it could reach up to tear her off of it. Setting herself to take advantage of the wound she had made, she leapt at it from the side, letting her weight carry her around the creature, effectively ripping out its throat. It went down about the same time Links did. Before they could turn to attack the third, it let out a blood curdling screech, causing both her and Link to cry out in pain. Link recovered more quickly than she could, and she barely heard him bark for her to move before she was slammed into the barrier. The first two creatures they had killed were back on their feet. Thinking that it had to do with something special that the last one did, Kas ignored her original target and went for the creature they had left for last initially. Link refocused on his original target. They repeated the process, each downing a target at about the same time. This time, it was Kas' original target that screeched. This time, Kas was able to recover before being hit. She growled when she heard Midna giggling.

"What's the hold up? You know if you keep leaving one alive, it'll just keep reviving the others." Kas dodged a swipe from one of the creatures, trying to ignore how unhelpful the little imp was being. Finally, she heard the imp sigh. "Fine, I guess I can help you out." She landed on Link's back, her orange hair lighting up, a magic circle extending around them. "Get all of them in the circle." Link stilled on her word, allowing all three creatures to focus on him. When they were all within the circle, Midna released it, and Kas gaped as the circle allowed Link to tear through all three creatures in such quick succession that none could revive the others. This time, they all disappeared into shadows, just as the first one they had fought had done.

Just beyond their location, they encountered the spirit's spring. The voice this time was weak, barely reaching them, even as they stepped into the center of the spring. _"Please....be careful...These woods...have changed...The dark clouds....of dusk cover...this land...The drape...of shadows....is called...twilight...In this twilight....those who live...in the light....become as....mere spirits...It is...a place...where the dark ones....and evil creatures dwell...I...am a....spirit of light...blue-eyed beast....red-eyed beast....Look....for my light...Retrieve...the light....stolen by the....dark beasts....and keep it....in this....vessel..."_ What looked like a string of empty beads appeared between them. _"In the....shadows....of twilight...the dark insects...are as....invisible...as normal beings...are here...Find....the insects....of darkness....The dark insects....They are....the form...taken by evil....once it has....latched onto....our scattered light..."_

Kas was silent as she thought about what the spirit had said, that the insects they would be searching for were invisible like the normal beings of the world. She vaguely remembered Link saying that people were trapped as spirits. But how could he know that. She turned to him. "Before, you said that people became spirits, right?" At his nod she continued. "Could you see them? I didn't encounter anyone from the time I was transformed until the time I met up with you. And your village wasn't affected. How do I know what I'm looking for?"

He thought hard about how to explain it before sighing. "It's hard to explain properly. I guess, I would put it like this. Since I woke up like this, if I focus really hard, I can smell things better, see things that I wouldn't otherwise be able to see." At her raised brows, he continued. "Like in my village, when I found the soft spot to dig into. I could see a physical difference in that ground." At her silence he huffed. "I guess you'll just have to see when we either find a bug, or come across a spirit."

They continued deeper into the forest. As he had in his village, Link led, since he was far more familiar with the area than Kas. They were nearing a fork in the path when a discharge of electricity went off in front of them. They both paused as the ground lightning moved around them. Link seemed to be looking at it very hard. "Okay Kas. This is one of the insects." At her skeptical look, he continued. "Try focusing all of your senses on that ball of lightning." She glanced at him before sighing and directing her focus on the ball of lightning. It seemed like all she accomplished was to give herself a headache from staring at the damn thing. She let out a growl and shook her head, frustration apparent before she let out a sigh. Then she had a thought. She was trained to see through the shadows, to become one with them. To sense things that were out of place. She closed her eyes briefly, allowing the senses she had always relied on to come into focus. Slowly, she opened her eyes. She gasped when the ball of lightning took the shape of a bug. In the next moment, the lightning around it died out, she let out a growl and leapt toward it, batting it into the air to clamp her jaws around it. As soon as she bit down, the bug disappeared, a ball of pure light hovering in front of her. It was drawn toward them, toward the container that Midna had tied around Link's neck. When it touched the container, it disappeared, only to have one of the previously empty beads glowing softly.


	6. Chapter 6

Once they reached the fork, Link hesitated. There was a locked gate directly in front of them, and he knew there was a small cottage off to the side. He quickly told Kas about the oil merchant and she insisted that she knew he would feel better if he checked on the man. Also, she figured if they were lucky, they would find one of the insects. Fortunately, there were some crates that just happened to give them access to a high vent window in the cottage. Once they were inside, Kas saw a blue shapeless glow. Glancing at Link, who nodded to her, she once again focused her senses. The blue glow turned into a man, Coro, Link had said his name was. It seemed that he could see the insects as there was not one, but two of them crawling around the inside of his house. He had climbed on top of a few crates and was shivering in fear. Kas glanced at Link, nodding at the one she would take. As soon as it was safe to, they both leapt toward an insect. Both resulting orbs of light merged with the container at Link's neck. They quickly left the cottage the same way they had entered and made for the locked gate to head deeper into the woods.

At the gate, Link started to dig off to the one side. He wriggled his way under the gate and turned to look at her after he shook himself off. She simply shook her head, backed up a few steps to allow for a small bit of momentum, and jumped to the top of the gate, easily jumping back down the other side to join him. The gate was positioned in front of a series of caves. "I've been through here before. Stay close." The caves were incredibly dark, even her well trained Sheikah senses had a hard time navigating the caves. When Link finally led them out, it was in a grove of some kind. A purple haze lay thick amongst the trees before them. She heard him mutter. "What in the world?" As he edged closer.

"Stop!" She yelled, suddenly realizing just what the fog was. When he turned to her, questions in his eyes, she continued. "Poison. Don't touch it." He quickly backed away at that. "Is there anything beyond this area?"

"Yes, there is a couple of clearings to go through, and then after that is the Forest Temple. It's too much area for one of us to cover alone, if that is what you're thinking."

She sighed. "It was." She looked up. "I think the only way for us to get across this is to go up and through the trees." She looked back to him. "Can you even make those kinds of jumps?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. I couldn't have made that jump over the gate that you did, and getting in and out of Coro's cottage wasn't exactly easy for me."

"I'll try to find the easiest path that I can. Wait here. I'll plan it out and come back for you." At his nod, she turned to find the best way to start across.

"Kas." She turned back to him. "Be careful."

She nodded. "I will be."

There was what looked like the remains of a dock. Kas slowly walked out to the edge, wary of any indication that it might give out under her. At the end of the dock, she could see a large root sticking up, but she wasn't even sure that she could make a jump that far, there was no way Link would be able to. She turned around and made back for solid ground. She paced the long edge of the side of the grove they were on. There didn't seem to be any way around, so she went back to the other side of the dock. The only hope she had of crossing, was a gnarled thick branch that stuck up out of the haze. She judged the distance. It would be hard for Link to make, but she didn't see any other option. She thought she saw a couple of stumps beyond that, but wasn't sure what came after, the haze was too thick to see.

Resigning herself, she made the first jump to the branch, then jumped to the first and then the second stump. Ahead, her only option was a jut of land that rose up from her current position. Again, it was a long jump that she wasn't sure that Link would be able to make, but she was able to at least get herself on solid ground again. From there, her options were limited. To her left there was a thick branch that dropped into her range, but she couldn't see how she would move from there. To her right were a couple of pillar-like structures that led to a joined bough of a pair of trees. If she could get Link this far, the pillar like structures were close enough together and close enough to the trees that he should be able to make the jumps easily. Pushing forward, she made the next set of jumps. From her new position, she could start to make out the other side of the grove. She was pleased to see that there were a series of large old stumps that she could use to reach the other side. Satisfied with her path, and seeing no other option, she carefully made her way back to Link.


	7. Chapter 7

Link looked at her expectantly as she approached him. "I found a way across, but I honestly don't know if you can make it. A few of the jumps in the beginning were close, even for me. Are you sure you don't want me to just go ahead alone?"

He shook his head, hard. "No. I'm coming with you. I can do it. Trust me?"

She looked him in the eyes then, holding his gaze for a moment. She had never had any reason to trust anyone outside of her village before, but she realized that even in the short time they had been travelling together, she did trust him. Slowly, she nodded. "Alright then. Make each of these first jumps as soon as I have jumped to the next spot. If you don't make the jump, do not breathe. Get back to solid ground as quickly as you can. I will make sure you are behind me every step of the way." He nodded. "Alright. Let's go then."

She lined herself up for the first jump. Satisfied that the branch would be able to support Link behind her, she jumped to the next stump. She paused, turning back to see Link scrabbling to pull his hind legs up on the branch. Once he gained his feet, he looked up to her and nodded. Letting out a sigh of relief, she jumped to the next stump. Again, she turned to see how he was doing. He was able to make the jump to the stump a bit more easily.

She moved from the stump to the jut of land. She moved out of the way once he was on the second stump, ready to grab a hold of him to help if he didn't make this jump all the way. It was probably the longest jump he would have to make. She knew he wasn't going to make it as soon as he jumped. His front legs and chest hit the ground, as the rest of him started to slide backwards. She jumped forward, sinking her teeth into his scruff, ignoring the yelp of pain he let out, as she put all of her strength into helping pull him forward onto the jut of land. It seemed like forever before he was finally able to get his hind feet under him, and they fell together in a pile, both panting with the effort.

As they pulled themselves apart and collected themselves, she looked at him. "Shit. I'm sorry Link. You're bleeding."

He glanced at the blood that he could see at the top of his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'd rather be bleeding than be in the middle of that fog. Besides, I don't think it's actually that bad." When he met her eyes, she looked away, shamed. He stepped closer to her, poking her shoulder with his nose. "Hey, I mean it. I'm fine." When she finally sighed and looked at him, he grinned. Or rather, his canine features responded by lolling his tongue out the side of his mouth.

She shook her head at his silliness. "Are you ready for the next part? The rest should be easier." At his nod, she turned to the pillars and jumped quickly from one to the next and finally onto the tree bough. She turned and had no time to move as he barreled into her, forcing them down again in a tangle of limbs. She groaned as she pulled herself to her feet. "Maybe give me a minute to collect myself before you decide to jump on top of me." Shaking herself off, she made for the other side of the tree bough to the remaining old stumps. She paused to be sure of her path before beginning. Each jump was fairly easy, and they made it to the other side without additional incident. Now that her part was through, she stepped aside. She was about to tell him to take the lead when a trio of bugs made themselves known. They quickly went to work, taking out all three bugs in no time. Once the light was secure in the vessel, she finished her earlier thought. "Lead on."

They found several more bugs as they entered the first clearing. They had barely finished collecting the light, when a barrier appeared. Kas groaned as three more of the shadow beasts dropped in on them. Fortunately, this time around, Midna aided them with her power right off the bat, saving them some time. They moved toward the second clearing, collecting all but the last two tears of light. "That is the entrance to the Forest Temple." Link stated quietly as they came upon the massive tree. As they padded to the entrance, they found the final two bugs surrounding a post with a blue glow above it. They took out the bugs before examining the spirit. It turned out to be a monkey. Link choked when he recognized her. "That monkey caused a lot of trouble before all of this started." They were both even more shocked when they could understand the monkey's musings after they eliminated the bugs. Before they could do much else, the container around Link's neck started to shine brightly. It was so bright that they both needed to close their eyes. When next they opened them, they were back in the spirit's spring.


	8. Chapter 8

As Ordona had done, this new spirit slowly appeared. This one took the shape of a monkey, holding its ball of light to its stomach. _"My name is Faron. I am one of the spirits of light who dwell in Hyrule. By the order of the gods, I protect this forest. O brave youth, in the land covered in twilight, where people roam as spirits, you were transformed into a blue-eyed beast. That was a sign. It was a sign that the powers of the chosen one rest within you, and they are awakening."_ The spirit turned to Kas then. _"Brave warrior of the shadows. Across the ages, one of your kind has frequently aided the hero of each age. It is for this reason that in the land covered in twilight, you were transformed into a red-eyed beast. You were the strongest of your kind, yet even still, you are coming into your own. Look, both of you, upon your awakened forms."_

Kas and Link both looked at themselves before looking at each other. Each seeing the other in their true form for the first time. Kas couldn't help but admire him for a moment as she circled him. He wore a green tunic, sturdy leather boots, bracers and greaves. His cerulean eyes did not change from how they looked as a wolf, and they suited his handsome face, framed by golden hair. She briefly noted the sword and shield that Midna had held for them, were strapped to his back.

Once Kas had finished inspecting him, he couldn't help but do the same to her. He couldn't tell where her pants ended and her tunic began, as they were both skintight, and so dark a blue that they were nearly black. A blood red symbol that looked like an eye was on her chest. He had to work to draw his eyes away from the symbol. The edges of her golden bracers were just barely visible beneath the white wraps that extended from just above her wrists to her elbows. The same symbol was present on each of the visible portions of her bracers. She had similar, golden greaves with the same eye symbol that sat over the top of soft black leather boots. A white mask covered the lower half of her face, while giving him a clear view of her beautiful ruby eyes. Her golden hair was pulled into a bun with a pair of pins keeping it in place. The only visible weapon on her person was a long dagger at her hip.

Once they were finished, Faron spoke once more. _"The green tunic that is your garb once belonged to the ancient hero, chosen by the gods. His power is yours. His is the true power that slept within you. Your name is Link. You are the hero chosen by the gods."_ Again, he turned to Kas. _"Your garb is that of the ancient Sheikah that aided the ancient hero. It is from this Sheikah that you have descended, and you shall match his power. Your name is Kassan. You are the last of the Sheikah, and the only person capable of aiding the chosen hero. Brave Link. Brave Kassan. A dark power rests in the temple, deep within these woods. It is a forbidden power. Long, long ago, I and the other light spirits locked it away. Because of its nature, it is a power that should never be touched by any who dwell in the light. But this world weeps beneath a mantle of shadows, and so there is no choice. You must match the power of the king of shadows. If you would seek this forbidden power, then proceed to the temple in the forest depths."_ With that, Faron disappeared.

For a moment they were both silent. Slowly, they turned to face each other. Kas broke the silence first. "We should probably head back to your village. I know you probably want to check on everyone, right? And that way you can focus on whatever is waiting for us in the Forest Temple." She was speaking quickly, trying to get the words out before she broke down. As soon as she finished, she turned, heading back toward Ordon.

"Kas, wait." He grabbed her wrist. She stopped, and it took all of her strength to not spin around with a dagger in her hand. She had to remind herself that Link was an ally. If the spirits were to be believed, he was the only ally she had left. When she didn't turn to face him, he stepped around her and would have looked her in the eye if she had raised her head. "What the spirits said, about the Sheikah..." He trailed off as he saw a tear slide over the ridge of her cheek and disappear into her mask. Frowning, he released her wrist, and brought that hand up to cup her chin. Slowly, he made her look at him. "Kas. I'm so sorry." She stayed strong right up to the point that he brushed a tear from her eye with his thumb. That simple action shattered her resolve. A small sob escaped her, and suddenly she was sobbing loudly. He pulled her to his chest, and when her knees gave out, he slowly lowered them both to the ground, still holding her. When her sobs finally died out, she slowly pushed away from him. Just enough to relay that she no longer needed his comfort. He released her, and stood, offering her his hand. She silently accepted it. Neither said a word as she nodded for Link to lead the way.

As they neared Ordon village, Link slowed. "If you don't want to enter the village, I understand." He pointed to a tree house nearby. "That's my house. You're welcome to whatever I have, and you're welcome to stay there if you want. I won't be too long."

She smiled. It took him a moment to realize that's what she was doing, because of her mask, but her eyes crinkled warmly. "Thank you for the offer. Perhaps on our way back to Faron, we should stop to see what supplies you have. For now, though, I will remain by your side. While I prefer to stick to the shadows, we wear our masks that we may venture into the light as needed."

"Will I ever get to see what is under your mask?" He was genuinely curious. Her eyes crinkled in amusement once more.

"Perhaps. But not now." With that, she stepped forward, prompting him to lead the way.


	9. Chapter 9

The villagers were thrilled to see that Link was unharmed. They were, understandably, disappointed when he admitted that he didn't know where the other children of the village were. He promised that he would find them and bring them home. Kas thought this was a foolish promise to make, since he had no guarantee that the rest of the kids from the village were even alive, let alone that he would be able to bring them home safely, but she maintained her silence. In fact, the villagers asked about her a few times, she merely nodded or shook her head as was appropriate, but otherwise remained his silent shadow. The villagers made sure that Link and Kas both had whatever supplies they could provide, but they were an admittedly small village, and were not used to providing the types of supplies that Kas knew that they would actually need. As they finally left the village, they stopped at Link's house, as they had discussed. She was pleasantly surprised to find a nice supply of dried meat in his stores. Since it was getting late, she recommended that they stay there for the night, and set out at first light. Not only was she tired from her lack of rest since she set out from her own village, she was emotionally drained. And quite frankly, she wanted to use the silly supplies the villagers insisted that they take. She pulled out the cream and cheese that came from the local goats and mixed it with the array of veggies that they had also supplied, to make a rich soup. Link's cooking skills were apparently very limited, as he abandoned her to the kitchen at the first sign of doing more than roasting or drying meat.

They enjoyed their meal in silence, and when they were done, Kas silently moved to clean up. While she did, Link found a spare set of blankets and set them out for himself on the floor. When he laid himself down on them, Kas raised a brow in silent question. He just shrugged and pointed her toward his bed. Shaking her head with a sigh, she laid down. Considering that she was in a strange place, she was asleep almost instantly. Years of habit had her up about a half hour before first light. Silently, she moved back to the kitchen and the remaining, highly perishable supplies to put a light breakfast together. She was just finishing when Link woke up. As they had the night before, they ate in silence. They both cleaned up after that, knowing that it would likely be a while before they were back. It was just about sunrise when they started off back to the Faron woods.

They had been walking for about an hour when Link finally spoke up, breaking the silence. "So, yesterday when you mentioned that you prefer to stick to the shadows, what exactly did you mean?"

She sighed lightly. "What do you know of the Sheikah?"

"Only what legend has said. That they are warriors loyal to Hyrule's royal family, but that they are rarely seen, and that they live in the shadows."

She snorted. "Legend is rarely accurate when applied to current times. Yes, we are loyal to the Royal family. It is our sworn duty to aid them in every way we are able, when we are needed, so I suppose that part is actually accurate. As far as living in the shadows....that is complicated. We live in a village just like any other people would. We live in the sun, in the rain, in whatever weather comes our way, just as you would do. I believe what legend is referencing by stating that we live in the shadows, is our ability to move through the shadows, unseen. It is part of what helps us be as skilled as we are. You can kill a lot of people if they don't see you coming." At his raised brow, she held up a hand. "Here, let me show you. Watch me very carefully." She stepped into the shadow, focused, and disappeared. She slowly stepped around behind him until she was on his other side. Instead of reaching for a dagger, she merely placed her hand at his neck and whispered. "If you were an enemy, you would be dead now." He gasped, spun out of her reach, and was reaching for his sword before he collected himself. She clapped slowly. "Excellent reflexes."

"How did...? But you were..." He stammered for a moment. "I didn't even hear you."

She snorted. "I should hope not. I wouldn't be a very good Sheikah if I made noise in the shadows and alerted my enemies." She continued walking towards the woods. When they reached the split, Link didn't hesitate, turning toward Coro's cottage. The man was sitting out front, tending a cooking fire. When they walked up, the man looked up.

"Who are...OH! It's the Ordonian! You seemed kinda familiar, but your clothes are different, so I got thrown off for a second." Kas just rolled her eyes. "Listen, things have been kinda rough around here lately, so you should watch your step. There are so many monsters now, I got scared and closed off the path to the temple."

Link nodded. "I saw, that's why I'm here."

Coro blinked. "You WANT to go back there? Even knowing about the monsters?" He sighed. "I guess you look like you've got the gear to handle it." He pulled out a key. "Here's the key to the gate. Just don't blame me if you get eaten." He handed the key over to Link. "By the way, the woods on the other side of the caves are covered in a really thick fog, so make sure your lantern is full." He looked over at Kas then. "Haven't seen you around before. You need a lantern?"

Kas spoke quietly. "No, thank you."

"Aw, okay. But let me know if you need any lamp oil. I sell that too."

Kas nodded in acknowledgement and turned to head back to the gate. Link quickly thanked Coro before he turned to join her. They trekked through the caves quickly enough. As he had before, Link led the way since he was more familiar with the cave system. When they came out the other side, Kas swore. "Shit." At Link's questioning look, she gestured to the poisonous fog that was still present. "I was hoping that the poison fog would be gone with the Twilight being gone. But obviously not. This is going to be a problem." She started pacing the bank. She was so focused on her thoughts, and trying to figure out a way across, that she didn't notice the monkey's presence until it was too late. The monkey they had seen as they collected the last of Faron's light, had grabbed Link's lantern and was waving it back and forth. Kas' hand was halfway to a dagger when she paused. The monkey was close to the edge of the fog, and when it waved it back and forth, the fog receded a bit. When her eyes narrowed at what that could mean, the monkey waved them toward it, like it wanted them to follow. Kas glanced back at Link before they both followed the monkey. It was slow going to get across the grove, but as soon as they were across, the monkey dropped the lantern, and headed deeper into the forest, toward the temple.

Link picked up the discarded lantern. "Empty. Good thing I had bought a bottle of oil a while back." He packed the lantern away as they set off deeper into the forest.


	10. Chapter 10

As they came into the next clearing, Kas threw up her arm to stop Link. "Shh. Look." She pointed to the pair of creatures that were in their path. "Bokoblins." She hissed the word like a curse before glancing at him. "Have you fought them before?" At the shake of his head, she continued. "They aren't very smart, but in large numbers, they can easily become overwhelming. Fortunately, there are only a couple to deal with. Should be some good practice for you. I'll take the first one, then you come in to take the second." She disappeared into the shadows one moment, and the next she was slitting the first bokoblins throat. The second one screeched at her appearance as Link rushed toward them. Kas back flipped away from the remaining bokoblin as it swung a club at her. Link took advantage of its missed swing and knocked the club away with his shield, before spinning into the creature with his sword. As he flicked the creatures blood off of his blade, Kas stepped up to him, sheathing her own blade. "Not bad. You're more skilled with that sword than I would have thought, considering you've been living in a village of farmers and fishermen." She nodded her approval.

"Well, Rusl used to be soldier in the royal guard. He taught me a lot when we would have free time." He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed at the praise.

"Regardless, he did a good job teaching you. I was honestly a bit worried about how much I would need to help you learn, but I think we'll be okay. Let's keep moving. If we see any others, we'll plan to do something similar, only now you don't need to wait for me, okay?" At his nod, they started walking. They came across a couple more pairs of bokoblins, each pair being dispatched equally quickly as the first. They had just come into sight of the temple when Kas pulled up short, eyes narrowing at what now blocked their path. Link had been following a step behind her since her senses could pick up enemies a bit faster, so he bumped into her at her sudden stop. At the question in his eyes, she merely inclined her head forward, directing his attention the golden wolf that was sitting in their path. Link stepped around her, slowly. As Kas started to voice protest, he held up his hand, shaking his head. When he was closer to the wolf, he drew his sword. At that, the wolf stood, leaping into his chest.

Link dropped to his knees and didn't move. Kas crept closer and quickly checked his pulse. It was strong and steady, but he appeared to be asleep. Before she could examine him further, she sensed a presence behind her and spun, dagger in hand, only to see a similar apparition. Only this one, was that of a large mountain cat. Kas' eyes narrowed as the cat's tail twitched before it jumped for her the same way the wolf had jumped to Link. When it connected with her, she blinked, to find herself surrounded by a white mist. The cat in front of her transformed to a ghostly figure, wearing attire almost identical to her own.

_"While the hero trains with his predecessor, we will train as well."_ The figure circled her. _"I see no flaws in your physical training. That has been preserved well through the ages. But you lack the magical training to truly be of use to the hero."_

"Magical training? The only thing resembling magic that we have had for a generation is the elder’s visions."

The apparition scoffed. _"That is why we are here. The skills I will teach you require music in some form to focus the spells. In ages past, our people have used several different instruments, the harp, the ocarina, even something as simple as a grass whistle."_

Kas frowned. "I don't exactly have a lot of spare room in my pack to be carrying an instrument around."

_"Grass it is then."_ An oddly shaped blade of grass appeared in front of her. _"That grass is magical. It will never tear or wear thin with use. The different shapes within it allow for the different notes to be played. The first song I will teach you is the Nocturne of Shadow. When you properly focus your magic into the song, you will be able to produce a field of shadow to paralyze and wound enemies."_ The apparition then proceeded to play seven notes. Kas closed her eyes and allowed the notes to resonate within herself, much the same way she would for many of her other skills. The apparition played the series of notes once more. Kas then opened her eyes and examined the grass in her hand. Unsure of herself, she tested out several sounds until she found the ones she wanted. The shade watched her patiently at she worked the whistle out for herself. When she made her first attempt at the song, she was able to play the first two notes well. The rest of the pattern was incorrect. The shade repeated the song for her again. The process repeated itself multiple times, Kas attempting to play the song, and slowly improving, the shade repeating the song for her after each mistake. Finally, after what had felt like hours, the shade nodded in approval. _"Very good. You now have the melody correct. Now the difficult part begins. When you play the melody, you now need to focus your magic into the notes themselves. The magic will feed through the notes to develop the spell. Like this."_ The shade played the melody again. Only this time, as Kas watched, the apparition glowed slightly, before she was enveloped in a field of shadow. When the field faded, Kas was able to move once more. _"I first want you to focus only on creating the spell. Once you are able to create the spell itself, then you will add in focus for where you want the spell located. We will continue as we have been. Begin."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since we all know what happens with Link and the Hero's Shade, I thought it would be cool to have something similar for Kas. I am basing the powers of the different songs off of what they do in Hyrule Warriors. All together Link has seven sword techniques that he learns from the Hero's Shade, so I figure Kas will have the same number of songs.


	11. Chapter 11

The training seemed to go on for days. In the back of Kas' mind, she wondered about the lack of need to eat or sleep in whatever realm the apparition had brought her to. She wondered about how time was passing there compared to what was normal. Her progress at manifesting the spell was slow, and as time went on, the power of the shade's spell became stronger and subsequently more painful. This proved to be adequate motivation after a time, because it allowed Kas to begin to really feel what the spell itself was designed to do. Once she had finally mastered producing the spell, training to control where the spell developed was much easier. Finally, the shade stopped her. _"That is enough for now. I believe you are proficient enough to continue developing this spell on your own. When we next meet, I expect your mastery to be perfect. Then you will learn the next spell. Until then, farewell."_

Kas slowly opened her eyes and climbed to her feet. It seemed about the time she returned to herself, Link did as well. He turned to her and quickly started speaking. "Kas, you wouldn't believe this, but that wolf..."

"Was actually the spirit of your ancestor, the ancient hero?" At his gaping expression she snorted. "Right after you checked out, I was visited by my own ancestor. It sounds like we both got some special training. I would be interested to see how long you felt like you were in there. For me, it seemed like days."

"Same."

"Interesting, as it would seem that very little time passed here. Anyway, I'm sure we'll both have the opportunity to demonstrate our new skills soon enough. We should probably continue on." They moved up the path to the temple, cautious, unsure of what they would find. The temple itself appeared to be carved out of a huge tree. Kas wasn't entirely sure if it was that, or a combination of many massive trees. She smiled a bit at the amount of shadows that lined the temple. It was more than adequate to give her a massive advantage against any enemies they would find in the temple. At first, they only came across a few deku babas, which Link easily dispatched. Then they came across the same monkey that had guided them through the poison fog. Only now she was caged and surrounded by a handful of bokoblins. Her fingers itched to reach for her grass whistle to try her new spell, but she hesitated. The monkey was innocent, and if she directed the spell at the group of bokoblins, it would be caught in the spell as well. Sighing, she disappeared into the shadows as Link rushed forward. They had fallen into sync quite quickly. Link drew their attention, while Kas slipped through the shadows to pick them off, until all lay dead. Moving quickly, Kas picked the lock on the cage and freed the monkey.

Once free, it jumped up and down, then gestured for them to follow. She led them into the next room of the temple. Kas quickly looked around and saw three doors. The monkey headed straight for the door in front of them. As they stepped through that door, they were in an outdoor area. There was a rope bridge in front of them. The monkey started across the bridge when a much larger monkey appeared on the other side. He threw what looked like a large boomerang at the bridge, severing the ropes. Their monkey guide managed to hold on and was able to climb back up to join them. Kas' eyes narrowed at the appearance of the boomerang, and the larger monkey. She thought she saw a wisp of shadow surrounding both. Midna's voice interrupted her thought. "What's going on? Has there been a monkey fight?" She giggled before returning to their shadows. When Kas went to refocus on the monkey, it was gone. The monkey led them back to what Kas guessed was the main chamber of the temple, before leading them to the door that was now on their right side.

The door led to a chamber with water inside, as well as another pair of doors. She led them to the door on the right. Inside was another monkey, also caged. Guarding the monkey was a pair of bokoblins. Link set to work eliminating them, while Kas freed the monkey. Kas wanted to go back to the water room and through the door on the left, but the monkeys both ignored that door and went back to the main chamber to go through the third door in there. That led to a series of chambers where they found two more imprisoned monkeys. Once they freed them, the monkeys led them back to the main chamber. With four of them together, they led Kas and Link to the first door in the main chamber once more. The monkeys then climbed up to the rope that still remained above the bridge that had been destroyed earlier. They spread out across the rope and gestured to Link and Kas.

"I think they want us to hang onto them to cross." Link stated, quietly.

Kas looked at him like he was crazy. "Can they even hold us? I mean we each have to be at least twice their size."

He shrugged. "They seem like they are confident about it." With that, he turned and jumped. The first monkey caught his hands. It swung him back and forth for a moment before tossing him to the next monkey. Each monkey repeated this process until Link was on the other side. Kas just stared for a minute before letting out a sigh. She was lighter than Link, so if they could hold him, they should be able to hold her. She ran and jumped, caught easily by each monkey as they helped her cross as well.


	12. Chapter 12

The chamber on the other side of the monkey bridge contained the monkey that had cut the bridge in the first place. Kas' eyes narrowed as soon as she laid eyes on it and the boomerang that it held. There was something wrong with both of them, a darkness that reminded her of the Twilight. She hissed out a warning to Link. "Disable it. Don't kill it. There's something wrong here." He merely nodded at her words. Before they could do much else, they had to split to avoid the boomerang. Kas saw an opportunity. She pulled out her whistle, focused on the monkey and played the melody that the shade had spent so long teaching her. A circle of shadow formed around the monkey, and it screeched in pain before the spell disappeared, letting the boomerang hit it, knocking it off of the posts that it was perched on. Link rushed forward and attacked it. It didn't take long for the fight to be over, a strange insect detaching from the monkey. The monkey stood slowly, looking around, before it spotted Link and Kas. It screeched in fear, and ran away, leaving its boomerang behind.

Kas and Link looked at each other briefly, shrugging before putting their weapons away. Kas then turned to inspect the boomerang. The dark shadow she had sensed before seemed to be gone. As they both approached, the boomerang swirled to life in its own whirlwind.

_"I am the Fairy of Winds who resides in this boomerang. You have freed me from evil, and I have my true power back. Please. Take it with you. Use it to aid your quest, and may my power and my blessing go with you."_

Kas nodded at Link, who reached out to take the boomerang. The winds surrounding it briefly flared higher, before disappearing. The boomerang allowed them to activate gears in different rooms, allowing them to advance deeper into the temple. They found several more monkeys along the way before they came to what, near as Kas could tell, was the second to last room of the temple. The problem was that there was a massive gorge between the side they were on and the side they needed to be on. When they entered the room, all of the monkeys they had freed were waiting for them. They climbed to the center of the room and held onto each other into a long monkey chain. They then started to swing back and forth, the monkey on the end gesturing for them to jump. Kas sighed as Link set himself to jump when the monkeys swung back closer to them. The monkeys held, and he made it to the other side with no problem. Kas made her jumps just as effortlessly.

The final room of the temple contained a lake that was purple. Kas edged closer, sniffing lightly. "Poison." She hissed. She leapt back as the poison lake started to bubble. A pair of monstrous deku babas appeared. Kas pulled out her whistle to immobilize one. As she reached for it, she yelled to Link. "The boomerang! Bomblings!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she played the melody on her whistle, aiming for the head closest to her. Link used the winds of the boomerang to pull a bombling into the others mouth. They repeated this a few times before the first head fell. Kas then pulled back to let Link finish with the second head. Both heads disappeared beneath the poison lake before reappearing with a third, more massive head. The thrashing in the lake had caused the bomblings to disappear, causing Kas to grimace. They couldn't get close to the thing because of the poison lake, but now they had no bomblings to attack it with either. About that time, they heard a monkey call out. The one that they had fought earlier, appeared above them, holding a bombling. Kas glanced at Link, nodded, and cast her spell on the smaller heads. Link repeated his attack on the larger head this time. It took several attacks before all heads reared back, wilting as they cried out. As the creature died, the poison lake turned clear, back into normal water. The creature exploded into pieces of twilight, before condensing into what looked like a piece similar to what Midna already wore on her head. She quickly manifested from their shadows to take possession of it.

The imp giggled. "Well done. That's what I was looking for. It's a fused shadow. It's what the light spirit called dark power. There's a total of three fused shadows. I bet the other light spirits have the others. If you want to know what they are....well, I guess you'll just have to find the rest." She giggled again before disappearing once more. Before they could go much further, they were surrounded by bright light, and found themselves back in Faron's spring.

_"Heroic Link, Brave Kassan. Do not think that Hyrule is now saved from the spread of Twilight. Leave these woods and head east to the land protected by the spirit Eldin. There you will find those you seek. But know that these lands lie in Twilight. They are now a dark realm covered by the clouds of dusk. If you set foot beyond the curtain of Twilight, you will revert back to your beast forms, so be prepared."_

As Faron disappeared, Kas spoke up, quietly. "How familiar are you with the rest of Hyrule?"

Link shrugged. "Not very, I'm afraid. I mostly stuck to Ordon and the Faron woods. As all of this started, I was getting ready to set out to Castle Town for the first time."

She nodded. "Then I will guide us. I know the Eldin region very well. Lanayru less so, but still better than you." With that, they set off, and in short order, had returned to Coro's hut. He was plenty surprised to see them alive. With the use of their lantern oil to cross the fog in the woods, both Link and Kas elected to buy a bottle of oil. They warned Coro that the fog he had seen in the woods was poisonous, and that the best thing would be for him to lock the gate back up. They returned the gate key to him, thanked him for his help, and continued on their way. Before they emerged into Hyrule field, Kas had been noticing the shadows growing larger along their path. She figured that it was getting late in the afternoon. Once they were free of the trees, she confirmed the suns position and commented to Link. "It's already late afternoon. We won't make it to Eldin before nightfall. We'll keep on until shortly before sunset, then make camp." When he nodded in agreement, she turned toward the east. "This way."


	13. Chapter 13

Kas could see the valley they would need to pass through to enter the Eldin region in the distance when she finally slowed to a stop. "This is far enough; we should make camp before it gets too much later." Link set out their bedrolls, while Kas set a couple of traps nearby to give some protection against monsters and collected enough wood for a very small fire. Link pulled some of the dried meat out of his pack and passed some to Kas before sitting down with his own. He studied her as he ate. She sat there for a long moment, seemingly ignoring his gaze before she sighed and met his eyes. "Nice try, Hero, but you still don't get to see my face yet." She simply pulled the bottom of her mask away from her mouth without pulling it up, and bit into her meat. The smirk in her eyes at his disappointment was obvious. She finished quickly and tucked her mask back into place. As the sun fully set, Kas finally spoke. "These other kids from your village, who are they?"

He thought for a moment, trying to decide the best way to approach the subject. "Well, there's Beth, she's ten, and the daughter of Hanch and Sera. They run the store. Then there's Malo, who is six, and Talo who is also ten. They are brothers, their parents are Pergie and Jaggle. Their house had the shield in it." She nodded in understanding. "Next there is Colin. He's eight and is Rusl and Uli's son."

"The one's with the sword. The man who taught you to use a sword."

He nodded. "And finally, there's Illia. She's Bo's daughter." At Kas's slight tilt of her head, he added. "Bo is the mayor." At her nod of understanding, he continued. "Illia is sixteen, same as me, although I am a few months older. Illia and I have been best friends for most of our lives, since we were the oldest in the village. The rest of the kid’s kind of look up to me as like a big brother or something." He rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "I think they just think it's cool that Rusl taught me to use a sword. Beth is bossy over the rest of the younger kids. Talo is always getting into trouble. Malo tends to follow him. And Colin..." He trailed off with a sigh. "Colin is such a kind kid. He's so timid though, so all the rest of the kid's pick on him, including Malo, who is younger than he is." He trailed off, his worry over the rest of the kids in the village bringing a frown to his face.

"Do you truly believe they are still alive?" Her question was quiet, little more than a whisper.

Cerulean eyes met her own rubies. The hardness to his gaze reminded her every bit of the wolf he would become when they entered the Twilight once more. "I have to believe they are. Anything else feels like giving up on them."

She searched his gaze for a long moment before she nodded. "I understand." She stood, stretching then. "You should get some sleep. I'll take first watch." With that, she stepped into the shadows and disappeared. Link crawled into his bedroll, closed his eyes, and allowed sleep to claim him. As she heard his breathing even out, she turned to look at him. 'Oh, Hero. I hope you're right about the kids.' She thought sadly, her thoughts drifting to her own village, and what the Light Spirits had told her. She settled in to continue her watch then, trying to keep her thoughts away from the dark places it wanted to go. The moon was waning and was only about half full, so there wasn't much light to go by, but when midnight finally came around, she stood slowly, stretched, and gently shook Link awake. When she finally saw light glint off of his eyes, she spoke quietly. "It's midnight, time for you to take over. Don't go more than a couple feet away, or you'll risk the traps." As he climbed to his feet, she climbed into her bedroll. She was asleep before he could settle into his watch position.

She woke just before dawn and crawled out of her bedroll, catching Link's attention. She nodded to him and they slowly packed their things. As they had the night before, they had some dried meat for a small breakfast. The sun was just barely beginning to rise when they set off. It was barely even mid-morning when they finally reached the valley to the Eldin region. They had barely entered the valley when they came to the wall of Twilight.

Midna's detached herself from their shadows and giggled. "Well, are you ready to go? Remember what will happen as soon as you enter the Twilight." Kas and Link glanced at each other for a moment before they both nodded. She passed through the wall, before pulling both Kas and Link through behind her. As soon as they regained their feet, they both cried out as their bodies changed. Link back to his wolf form and Kas back to her mountain cat form. As soon as they had, the little imp plopped herself on Link's back. "That's a good boy. Now you need to listen to what I say from now on." She looked around. "Ah. How lovely the clouds of Twilight look today!" She giggled once more.

Kas let out a huff of disgust at Midna before continuing through the valley, Link right on her flank. They were nearing the exit of the valley when they spotted something in the road ahead. Link sprinted forward, nearly unseating Midna as he did. As they approached the object, Kas realized it was a wooden sword. "That sword belongs to the kids." Link growled before sniffing around it. "I think I've got their trail."

"Alright, we'll follow your nose for now. Hopefully the trail will lead in the direction we need to go anyway. The next spring should be in Kakariko village."


	14. Chapter 14

The trail that Link followed fortunately led them straight to where they needed to be. Their only obstacles along the way was a set of three shadow beasts that they dealt with quickly, just prior to Kakariko gorge, and a locked gate at the entrance to the pass up the mountain to Kakariko village. Link elected to dig his way underneath the gate, while Kas jumped to the top and then easily down to the other side. They met another group of shadow beasts just inside the village. Once they were disposed of the beasts, they could hear the weak voice of Eldin's light spirit calling to them.

_"To the hero....who was....transformed into....a blue-eyed beast....in the realm of shadows....this way..."_ They followed the voice to the spring, just off to the side of the entrance of the village. _"I am....a spirit...of light...Hero...chosen by....the gods...Look for...my light...Gather the light....stolen by....the shadows...into this...Be careful....the darkness....now hunts you..."_ A container similar to what they had used to collect Faron's light appeared. Midna again attached it around Link's neck.

"We should start here in the village, check each building and probably the graveyard before we head up Death Mountain." Kas volunteered before they went too far. "I doubt we will luck out and have all the insects be in the village, but at least that way we don't have to backtrack."

All of the buildings were closed up, which wasn't surprising to Kas, if things were as bad as she believed. So, they had to find a way into each building. The first building they came to after leaving the spring, had a small overhang outside. They were able to climb into a tree nearby to jump onto the overhang. From there, they were able to make it to a hatch in the roof of the building. Once inside, they noticed several glowing spirits together. Kas glanced at Link, and they nodded to each other before focusing on the spirits, allowing them to be able to see them. Link gasped when he saw them, there were several children with a pair of older men huddled together. Based on Link's response, she could only assume that these were the children of his village. They listened in as the spirits conversed.

One of the men was looking out the window. "Cripes! I don't see those black brutes anywhere. They've gotta be hidin' somewhere, waitin' for their helpless little prey to come out. Then they'll feast."

The kids looked to the other man that they were huddled around. He spoke gently. "We are safe as long as we remain in here, child. Be at ease."

The other man turned back to them. "Oh yeah? I wonder if the monsters out there would agree with ya. They sure didn't seem impressed by my bombs! How long do you think we can hold this sanctuary against beasts that strong? Once they attack, it's over!" The kid's huddled tighter together as the man continued to go on. "Remember the lady from the general store? Just one of those things attacked her, and a whole gang from town went to save her. And what happened? She was already gone, and there were TWO monsters waitin'. You connecting the dots? That means if we're attacked by them, then we'll be..."

"BARNES!" The other man roared, glaring at him. As he did, one of the girls began to cry.

"Look, Renado. All I mean to say is that it's risky here too! Ain't you got someplace we can hide?"

The other man, Renado, spoke slowly. "There is...a cellar."

"Whaaat? You got a cellar? Where's the entrance?"

"The entrance to the cellar is designed to open when all the candles are lit." He gestured to the candles lining the wall of the room.

The one called Barnes hurried to light a torch and was moving to start lighting the candles when a smaller voice spoke up. "I would not do that." The voice belonged to a dark-haired girl. Kas suspected she was related to Renado. "When father instructed me to secure the cellar, I saw insects like the beasts outside."

The blonde girl was still sitting there crying as Kas glanced at Link at the information about the cellar. "Don't cry Beth. It'll be ok." The little blonde boy tried to reassure the crying girl. She pushed him away, still crying. He continued, quietly. "Link is coming to save us all." The girls crying slowed. "I can feel it." Finally, Beth's tears slowed to nothing.

Kas looked at Link. "They really do believe in you. Let's get that cellar open and take care of the insects they saw." She picked up the still burning discarded torch and moved around the room quickly, lighting the candles that Renado had indicated. As she did, Link continued to stare at the group. The entrance to the cellar opened, and Kas paused, noticing Link's continued focus on the group. "Link? What is it?"

"Illia." His voice was tight. "She's not here."

She nosed his shoulder. "It doesn't mean she isn't still alive." He finally looked at her. "Either way, there's nothing we can do about it right now. One thing at a time, Hero." They then dropped down into the cellar. There were three insects in there, which they quickly took care of. They followed the length of the cellar and found a second entrance. They needed Midna's help to get back out of the cellar, which made Kas grit her teeth. The imp was impossible to deal with, and anytime they needed help, she was sure to make fun of them.


	15. Chapter 15

The second entrance to the cellar let them out in the Kakariko graveyard. There were no insects to be found, and so they returned to the village. From there, Kas led them up a rise that let them jump onto the open second story of the village's inn. Inside, they found only one insect, but a few smaller shadow beasts, the equivalent to bokoblins, and made short work of them. Once they left the inn, they backtracked closer to the entrance of the village to make their way up to the rooftops on the opposite side of the road that went through town. A weak spot in one roof had Link falling inside. He called up to Kas to wait there and found an insect by chance as he was figuring out how to get back out. He ended up needing Midna's help again, and then stuck closer to Kas as they continued on.

The last building they came to in town had a partially broken window. Kas lined herself up and took a running start to burst through the window without hurting herself. They only found one insect there and were able to exit to a trail behind the building, which led up to one more building, isolated overlooking the village. Kas groaned when she realized the only entrance was to partially dig their way in. As soon as they entered, Kas froze. They were surrounded by bombs. The place was a death trap. They saw an insect buzzing around inside a stove that was likely in there to keep the bombs from freezing during colder weather. Before she could stop him, Link bumped into it. The insect fled from the stove, but carried a flame with it. As it flew around the building, flames caught, and bombs started to sizzle. "GET OUT!" She practically screamed at Link, and they both made for the exit as quickly as they could, they ran from the building, but weren't quite far enough away when it blew. They were thrown several feet by the force of the explosion. When they regained their bearings, they found several drops of light.

"I think we've found all that we could in the village." She looked up. "That leaves the trail up Death Mountain." They both limped off, still shaking off the force of the explosion. The path up Death Mountain was not easy, even when in normal form, with the ability to climb. The beginning of the path was cut up high enough, that the Goron's had laid out a foundation of iron and netting that humans could climb up. It was impassable in their current forms, forcing them to rely on Midna's aid once more. There was a spirit sitting at the top of the climb. He was muttering about having to stand guard, and puzzling why they weren't asking for help if they were having a problem. Kas frowned. If the Goron's were having trouble and didn't want outside aid, it would be difficult for them to come back once in their normal forms. They continued up the pass, until, in an area with multiple steam vents, Link paused, cocking his head to the side.

"Do you hear that?" He asked.

"I don't hear anything."

She watched as he slowly followed his ears to a strange stone. He closed his eyes and listened for a moment, before sitting back and howling. When he finished, he stood there, and seemed to check out, similar to when they encountered their ancestors previously, but as quickly as it began, it was over. He simply nodded to her to continue on. They didn't find another insect until they reached the hot springs just before the base of Death Mountain. When they finally reached Death Mountain proper, they found a group of four shadow beasts waiting for them. It took them a bit longer to deal with them, as there was a bit more complex of a barrier set up, isolating two of them in different places that the other two. Kas and Link split those two first, and then Link took the last two with Midna's help. They found the remaining insects and were transported back to Eldin's spring.

Kas opened her eyes to see that once again, they were both back in their normal forms. They watched as the Light spirit slowly appeared, this time in the form of a great owl, perched on his ball of light. Eldin spoke to them, much as the other spirits had done before him.

_"My name is Eldin. I am one of the light spirits of Hyrule. I am the spirit that guards these lands. O great hero chosen by the gods, shadow warrior, the dark power you seek lies in the sacred grounds of the proud mountain dwellers. But already those grounds have been defiled, draped in shadow, and seeded with evil. You must go to those sacred grounds and cleanse them."_ Eldin then disappeared.


	16. Chapter 16

They were stepping out of the spring when a gasp caught their attention. The children from Ordon were gathered in the doorway of the home they had taken refuge in. "Link?" The blonde boy, Colin, as Kas tried to remember their names, called, before they all ran toward Link. Colin was knocked down by the others, causing Kas to narrow her eyes a bit, but he quickly regained his feet and joined them.

The oldest boy was laughing. "See Beth? I told you Link would save us!" At that point, Kas caught Link's eye, and attempted to make for the shadows of the home. Before she could get very far, Renado and the others joined them as well.

"You are the one from Ordon whom these children spoke of?" At Link's nod, he continued. "We are well met. I am Renado, shaman of this town. And this, is my daughter, Luda." Kas smirked as she watched Barnes hang his head when Renado skipped over him.

Colin spoke up quietly. "The beasts took us and left us to die, but Mr. Renado found us."

"At first, I could not believe they had come from so distant a place as the Ordona province." Renado added smoothly.

"Yeah, I, we don't remember much. All of a sudden, everyone was captured, and then, until now it's been like..."

"A nightmare." The youngest, Malo spoke up.

"Yeah." Colin agreed. "It was like a terrible dream and we couldn't wake up."

Renado hummed in agreement. "Nightmares are everywhere these days, it seems. This village has certainly seen its share of recent hardships. The dark beasts attacked, but even worse was the sudden and inexplicable change in the mountain-dwelling Goron tribe. They had long been our friends, but suddenly treated us as foes. Even now they refuse to permit us entry to their mines. It strains the limits of belief, to think that such a gentle and proud tribe could change so suddenly. It makes me wonder if something in those mines is the cause of this change." He turned his attention back to Link. "In any case, you must take these children and flee this village before more nightmares descend. I, of course, cannot leave my village in such a time. There is no telling what may happen to us here. But it is my job to try to coax the Gorons back from their recent change of heart."

Kas put her hands on her hips. Before she could speak, Link's voice cut across the silence sharply. "No." At the question in Renado's gaze, Link continued. "I appreciate what you have done up to this point, taking care of the children, but I must ask you to continue to do so."

When he didn't say anything else, Kas spoke up finally. "There are a couple of reasons we need to ask this of you. For one thing, we have no way to get a group of children safely back to Ordon right now. We would need a wagon, which I have not seen around the village. Additionally, we have business with the Gorons, whether they like it or not. We will settle things. In the meantime, please continue to watch over the children."

Renado focused his attention on Kas for a moment before his eyes widened. "You are one of the Sheikah, are you not?" At her nod, he looked back and forth between Link and Kas a few times, before sighing. "I suppose I have no choice. If a messenger of the Royal Family is insisting, I cannot argue."

"Thank you, Renado." Link smiled. "We should get moving." He started to turn to head back toward Death Mountain.

"Wait." Kas put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "If what Renado has said about the Gorons refusing access to the mountain is true, we will need a way to stop them. As strong as you are, you will be no match for a rolling Goron."

"How do you propose we do that?"

"I may know of someone who can help." Renado spoke up, interrupting their discussion. "I know of one person who was able to best the Gorons strength. His name is Bo." He focused on Link. "I believe you know him?" He thought for a moment. "If you are there speaking with him, you should also let him know that the children are safe."

Kas sighed. "That is a long trip on foot, and by the time we get there and back, it will delay us by a week."

"If I had Epona, it would shorten the trip by half probably."

"Epona?"

"My horse. She disappeared when the kids did...." Link was about to continue when the scream of a horse caught their attention. A horse came tearing through town, with a pair of bulbins barely hanging on to it. One fell off as it passed by them. Kas quickly threw a knife in between its eyes, dropping it. The second bulbin fell off as the horse sped back towards them, bucking several times.

Kas called out as she moved to kill the second bulbin. "You worry about the horse." She sprinted to the second bulbin, drawing her dagger, sliding behind it as she slit its throat. She turned to see Link barely hanging onto the horse as it started to run again. He held on for several minutes before the horse stopped to try and rear. Link was able to get his hands on the reins and finally calm it. Kas wiped her dagger clean and replaced it, moving to collect the knife from the first bulbin, as Link approached her on the horse. "I take it this is Epona?" She asked, replacing her knife before turning to face him.

He grinned. "Actually, yes. How's that for timing?"

She snorted. "Only you, Hero. Only you."

He held out a hand to her. "I feel like we both need to go, grab on."

She raised her brow. "Are you sure she can carry both of us that far, quickly?"

He nodded. "Absolutely."

She grabbed his hand and jumped as Link pulled. She settled just behind him on the saddle. It was a tight fit, but they would manage okay. She placed her hands just over his hips, blushing beneath her mask as she did so. They waved back to Renado and the kids and set off. As they neared the exit of the pass out of the village, Kas' eyes widened. "Link! The gate is still closed!"

"Hold on tight." He urged Epona to go full out.

"Are you crazy?" Kas yelled as she wrapped her arms around his middle. "There is no way a horse can make that!"

"Trust me!" He shifted his weight forward preparing for the momentum of the jump. Kas closed her eyes and pressed her face against his back, gripping him tightly. She felt them hit the ground, and their pace evened out before Link's voice reached her. "You can relax now, Kas. Not that I'm complaining, but you don't have to hold me like that the rest of the way to the village." She released her hold on him like she was burned, feeling her face heat up beneath her mask again. At her grumbled reply, he laughed.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, if anyone is still reading this story, THANK YOU!!!
> 
> Second, I apologize for the slow posting. I'm kind of hit and miss as far as when I have the inspiration to keep writing this story. I have about half of what is written posted at this point, and I figure that less frequent, but consistent posts will at least keep you interested. My main focus is on one of my other stories currently, but once that labor of love is finally posted, I can shift some of my focus onto this as well as some other projects.
> 
> Thanks again for the support!

Kas had to admit, she was quite impressed with Epona. Had they set out first thing in the morning, they would have made the trip in a single day. As it was, they made it back into the confines of Faron woods before having to stop for the night. Near as she could tell, it had taken them about two full days to get to Kakariko from Ordon, but since a portion of that was in twilight, and in animal form, it was hard to say for sure. They set up camp much the same way they had on the way to Kakariko. They were both quiet as they ate. Link was worrying about Illia, and Kas was thinking about her village, hoping that at least someone was still there.

They arrived in Ordon before midday the next day. Kas again hung back in the shadows as Link made sure that all of the parents knew that their kids were safe currently. When they got to Bo, things turned serious very quickly. He was disappointed that Illia was not with the other children, but realized they had another purpose for being there.

"What's that now? The Gorons of Death Mountain?" He hummed in thought. "I see. So Renado told you that." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, it's true. I did defeat the Gorons in a contest of strength and earned their trust. But I had a bit of a trick to it." He gestured for them to follow him to the back room. "I can teach you the secret, but you have to promise to never tell anyone." At Link's and Kas' nods, he continued. "Good. Link, you've heard of sumo wrestling, right? Gorons like to match strength in sumo contests." He chuckled. "Lucky for you, the basics of sumo are the same as stoppin' chargin' goats." The back room he had led them to, contained a raised platform of a sort. "Chances are if you're gettin' in a sumo match, that you'll be in an arena like this. The first fella to push his foe outside the arena wins. Rather than explain in detail, why don't we just get to it? Come into the ring."

Link set aside most of his gear, since he would not be using any of it, and it would likely just get in his way for this. Kas watched with interest as both men removed their shirts, specifically, the amount of lean muscle that Link actually had hidden under his tunic. She felt her face heat up a bit as her eyes trailed up and down his body. The first sparring match they had, Link easily won. She suspected that Bo had gone easy for the first round, just to make sure the basics were down. The next round took a few minutes longer, as Bo dodged a bit more, and was more aggressive in attacking Link, but even so, the Hero won easily.

"Not too shabby. With your natural talent, I'm sure you'll be able to take on the Gorons. Plus, it seems like you've gotten stronger since you've been gone. Still, strong as you are, you can't hope to beat the Gorons wrestlin' with power alone. Those Gorons are made of rock." He pointed to a chest in the corner. "Nah, the secret to beatin' the Gorons is shut away in that chest."

Link pulled his gear back on and went for the chest. Both he and Kas couldn't believe what was inside. "Seriously old man? THAT'S your secret?" Kas groaned as Link dragged out a pair of solid iron boots.

Bo shrugged. "It keeps you from being pushed around as easily. It worked for me, so it should work for Link. Just remember, you can't tell anyone about those boots. 'Specially Renado."

Link packed the boots away in his bag, thankful that the magic within it made the boots weightless. He and Kas then started to leave the village. They made it as far as Ordona's spring, when Link pulled Epona to a halt. "Link?" Kas called with a question.

"I feel something." He motioned for Kas to get down, and he followed quickly. He stepped in toward the spring and looked around. His eyes narrowed and he gestured to Kas. "Look." A golden wolf was sitting there, waiting for him. Kas nodded and let him step forward alone. The wolf jumped toward him and disappeared, causing Link to drop to his knees. Knowing what to expect this time, Kas turned expectantly, and saw the golden cat there for her as well. As it leapt at her, she felt her consciousness be pulled away.


	18. Chapter 18

_"We meet again, child."_ The apparition of her ancestor seemed smug. _"Are you prepared to learn the next spell?"_ At Kas' nod, the apparition continued. _"Good. First, I want you to demonstrate your mastery over the Nocturne of Shadow."_ Kas quickly pulled out her whistle, and put all of her power into the spell, attacking the apparition. As the spell released, the apparition chuckled. _"Excellent. Now, listen closely to the Serenade of Water."_ He played a series of five notes several times, allowing Kas to memorize the notes. He then demonstrated the entirety of the spell. A shield of water surrounded the apparition. _"The Serenade of Water is a protective spell. It can be maintained for as long as you are in need, or as long as you are physically able. Protective spells tend to be more difficult to maintain than attack spells, as the goal is to protect yourself and those around you. A careful flow of magic must be used, rather than the full assault of magic you utilized with the Nocturne of Shadow. As before, I want you to start out with only the notes themselves, once they are consistently correct, we will move on."_

Kas pulled her whistle out once more. Now that she was more familiar with it, the time it took for her to string the correct notes together took far less time. Once the apparition was satisfied, he guided her in the flow of magic she should direct into the spell. It took her several attempts to manifest the spell the first time. When she did, the shell of water she produced was thin, unsteady, and quickly fell apart.

_"That was a good first attempt. It is better to need to slowly add in more power to learn what the spell requires, rather than to overdo it to begin with."_

Kas continued to repeat the spell, slowly adding in more power with each attempt. She felt as if she had repeated the spell a hundred times before the apparition approved. _"Good. Remember how that felt. The amount of power was perfect. Continue, but this time, once you have established the spell with that same level of power, maintain the shell for as long as you can with a steady stream of power."_

Kas continued to repeat the spell. Over and over again, each time maintaining the protective shell for a bit longer. It felt like hours before the apparition was finally satisfied. _"Very good. You have picked up this spell much more quickly than the last. Continue to practice, as I will expect mastery the next time we meet. Farewell."_

As Kas opened her eyes, Link was standing in front of her, arms crossed, waiting. He extended a hand once he saw her eyes open, and he slowly pulled her to her feet. "How long have you been standing there?"

He shrugged. "Just a few minutes. Ready to head back to Kakariko?"

She shook her head. "I think we should go back to your home and stay there tonight. It was already the middle of the day when we left Bo's, and I would rather not camp out if I don't have to." At Link's frown, she sighed. "Never mind. I didn't think about how much you worry about the kids." At his look of relief, she shook her head. "Let's go, then." He mounted Epona, and quickly pulled her up behind him. The pace he set was not as hard as it had been the previous day, and they only made it about halfway across Hyrule field before stopping to set up camp. Neither had discussed their training with their ancestors, so when she pulled out her whistle after setting up camp, Link looked on with interest. "I think I'll end up using this new spell quite a bit, especially if we are going to be heading into the Goron mines." With that, she played the melody softly, bringing up the shell of water around her. As she released her hold on the magic, the water disappeared. This time, Link volunteered to take the first watch, waking Kas up around midnight.


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning, they packed up quickly and set off shortly before sunrise. Link was anxious to get back to Kakariko, and so he pushed Epona a bit harder that day. They arrived about midday, only to find a group of bulbins, led by the most massive bulbin Kas had ever seen, kidnapping Colin. The massive bulbin held up the boy as a taunt before taking off in the opposite direction. Link urged Epona to her fastest to catch up with them. They came out into upper Hyrule field. The massive bulbin taunted them once more, before riding off. Kas spoke quickly. "You focus on the leader. I'll keep the others off of us." She quickly lifted herself up and spun placing herself back to back with Link. She pulled out her long dagger, and her whistle. She gripped the roll of gear strapped to the saddle as Link urged Epona to take off. As the group of bulbins chased after them, she played the Nocturne of Shadow when they would get close, stunning and injuring the bulbins, causing them to back off. She would miss one or two of them and would use her dagger to deflect the arrows that some of the bulbins would shoot at them.

She could feel Link swing his sword now and again, and could hear the scream of the massive bulbin, so she figured they were making progress, but didn't dare take her focus off of the smaller bulbins still chasing them. Suddenly, she heard Link call her name. "KAS!" She turned, saw Colin flying forward as the massive bulbin fell. With a curse, she sheathed her weapons, and leapt from Epona, rolling as she hit the ground, coming up just in time to catch the unconscious boy. Link pulled Epona around to circle them before the smaller bulbins decided to retreat. She carefully untied Colin and checked him over. The boy had bruises developing on his chest and had a small amount of blood on the back of his head. "Looks like he's got some cracked ribs, and likely a mild concussion, but I think he'll be okay." She gently handed him up to Link, before taking his hand to take her place behind him on Epona. The mare was soaking wet, between their trip to Kakariko, and then the chase after the bulbins. Link set an easy pace back to Kakariko.

As they returned to the village, Kas directed him to head straight for Eldin's spring. "The spirit springs have healing properties. It will do him good to let the spring's waters soothe him." As Epona stepped into the spring, Kas slid from her back, she took Colin from Link, and headed deeper into the spring, she knelt, holding the boy's head above the water, but allowing the rest of him to be submerged in the healing waters. Link dismounted and took a shaky step before regaining his feet and joining her, eventually taking Colin from her. She looked at his face, and realized how exhausted he had to be, her own fatigue was catching up with her quickly, in spite of the healing waters of the spring. The boy slowly opened his eyes. "Link...is everyone...okay?" At Link's nod, he sagged. "Good." His eyes closed again, and Link carefully stood, turning back to see the rest of the children and Renado waiting. He handed the boy to Renado, who took him inside, and tended to him. Kas slowly stood and placed a hand on Link's shoulder.

"Renado will take good care of him. Let's tend to Epona, and then I think we need to rest in the village tonight. We're both exhausted." She helped him strip Epona's tack and cleaned her off in the spring before setting her to graze nearby. Renado got them set up in the abandoned inn and made dinner for everyone. With all the kids around, Kas took her dinner up to her room, so she wouldn't have to worry about keeping her face hidden. She was nearly finished when a knock came on her door.

"It's me." Link's voice came through quietly.

She quickly pulled her mask up. "Come in." She looked up as he entered and closed the door behind him. He leaned heavily against the closed door. She gestured to the bed beside her. "Sit. You're barely on your feet still." His steps were heavy as he trudged across the room. He sat heavily on the bed next to her with a sigh.

"We were almost too late today." His voice was tired, pained. "If we had been much later, Colin could have been..."

She looked at him hard. "You can't think like that. We are only two people. There is only so much we can do in a single day. As it is, we've been running ourselves ragged." She gestured to him. "Look at yourself. There is nothing more you could push yourself to do today without risking your life. And I hate to admit it, Link, but without you, I don't think we have a chance." She sighed. "You're doing everything you can. And so far, it has all worked out. Don't beat yourself up over 'what if'."

He met her eyes finally. "You really mean that?" At her nod, he sighed. "Thanks, Kas. I don't know what I would do without you."

She eyes crinkled warmly with her smile. "I'm sure you would manage, Hero."

He yawned widely. "Mind if I stay here for a bit?"

She nodded. He laid down beside her and closed his eyes. She turned her back to him fully and pulled her mask back down to finish her dinner. She was on her last couple of bites when she heard gentle snores. She smiled as she finished, pulled her mask back up for the night, and laid down beside him, her back to him. Her own exhaustion swept over her quickly, and within minutes, she was sound asleep beside him.


	20. Chapter 20

She woke slowly in the middle of the night. She felt warm, safe, and felt a comfortable weight draped over her. As her brain caught up, she stiffened. She remembered that Link had been with her, and she realized the weight she felt, was his arm draped over her. She tried to peel herself out of his hold, but as she moved, he only tightened his grip on her, mumbling as he shifted them closer together. She felt her face burn with how close they were. His breath on the back of her head sent a shiver down her spine. The longer she lay there, the more comfortable she became, and soon enough, she fell back asleep. When she woke in the morning, Link still has his arm wrapped around her, and he had tangled their legs together while they slept. This time, when she tried to slowly peel herself away, Link woke up. She felt him stiffen, realizing their position, before he jumped away from her as if he'd been burned.

"Goddesses, I am so sorry Kas." The words tumbled from his lips almost too fast for her to understand.

She shook her head. "It's fine, I think we both needed the comfort." She smiled warmly. "I will admit, I woke in the middle of the night and was a bit startled at our....predicament, but I was too comfortable to do much about it." She felt her face warm with her statement. She glanced up and saw Link's face pinken before he cleared his throat and excused himself.

As they made it down to breakfast, they were pleased to see that Colin was up and moving around, although he still wasn't moving very fast. Talo spoke up. "Link, where were you this morning? Malo and I went to your room, and you weren't there." He and Kas' eyes met for a moment before they both looked away, faces warming.

"Er, I was...taking care of Epona." The kids didn't notice his hesitation, but Renado looked knowingly between him and Kas. Kas quickly excused herself with her breakfast and returned to her room to eat and to ready herself for the journey up Death Mountain.

As she returned to see the others finishing up, she caught the end of the conversation. "I think I understand what my dad meant when he told me I needed to be stronger, like you, Link." Colin was speaking softly. Kas smiled gently to herself. The damned kid was cute. "He wasn't talking about strength, like lifting stuff. He was talking about being brave. You can do something to help the Gorons in the mine, can't you, Link?" At his nod, Kas emerged.

"Ready?"

"Before you travel up the mountain, you should check the store in town. I seem to recall there was a metal shield there." Renado suggested, looking at Link's current equipment. "I doubt that wooden shield will last in the fires of the Gorons mines."

They thanked him, said goodbye, and finally set out. They stopped, and found the shield, as Renado had suggested. He packed his wooden shield away, and they made for Death Mountain. They came to the first area that they would have to climb, where they knew a Goron was standing guard. As soon as they made it to the top, Kas disappeared into the shadows. Link pulled out the iron boots and started toward the Goron. When it saw him, it curled into a ball and launched itself at him. Link stood his ground, grabbed the Goron, and tossed it to the side. He quickly put the boots away as Kas emerged, chuckling. "I hate to admit it, but it looks like Bo was right about those boots." As they continued up the trail, they encountered a few more Gorons. Link handled them the same way he did the first one. They were coming back to the area with all of the steam vents, when Kas paused. "Bulbins." She hissed. There were a handful of bulbin archers higher up on the cliffs, waiting for someone to come through. Kas pulled out her whistle. "We won't be able to do anything about them for now, but I can at least protect us." She quickly played the Serenade of Water and formed a shield around them. She strained to maintain the barrier as they moved, but it held as the bulbins fired at them. She released the spell with a sigh as soon as they were clear.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, man. Sorry for the long delay everyone! The last month or so has been crazy busy and stressful, and it has really taken away my motivation to write. In general, with where I am actually at in the story, I was starting to struggle before my hiatus anyway. (Psst. The water temple is a bitch to write.) And while I haven't actually gotten any more written yet for this fic, I have started writing again. One of the other ones that I'm posting at the same time is almost finished. After that, I plan on refocusing my efforts on this story as well. In the meantime, here is a nice short chapter for you. Enjoy!

Their path was clear the rest of the way until they reached the base of Death Mountain itself. The mountain erupted, spitting flaming rocks at them. Most were small enough to easily dodge, but a monstrous rock crashed into the center of the clearing. They edged around it and quickly climbed up the set of paths that would take them to the center of the mountain. Kas stopped them near the top. "I know it's difficult for you to move, but I think you should put your boots on now." He complied and heaved his way inside. They were met by a score of Gorons, who all turned toward them at once, and curled up to prepare to attack. Kas pulled out her whistle to put up a barrier when a voice called out.

"ENOUGH!" The Gorons all returned to a standing position as a smaller Goron emerged. "Are these young ones so imposing an enemy that you must all gang up on them? I think not Little Brothers." He addressed them then. "I am a Goron elder little hylians. My name is Gor Coron. Because of certain...circumstances, I must lead the Goron tribe in place of our patriarch, Darbus. Tell me, do you come from the village below? You have done well to come this far. You are strong, for hylians. However, the mines beyond here are sacred to my tribe. Outsiders are not allowed." He smiled then. "Unless...I could make an exception. But you would have to best me in a contest of power. Are you willing to try that, little hylian?" Link glanced at Kas, before turning back and nodding. They moved to the ring, and Kas held onto Link's pack. The fight took even longer than when he fought against Bo. The elder was wily and moved around a lot. Eventually, Link finally got the upper hand, and forced the elder out of the ring.

"Young warrior, you have a strong will, and sharp eyes. These are fine traits. I am sure you have seen it, the mountain erupting without pause. When the mountain began to rage, all four of us elders and our patriarch, Darbus, went inside to investigate its anger. We have a treasure that was entrusted to us by the spirits and we must protect it. But the moment Darbus reached out and touched the treasure, everything went wrong. He collapsed, and before our very eyes transformed into an unspeakable monster. He began to rage through the mines, trailing ruin behind him, and the eruptions grew more frequent and more severe. We used all of our strength to seal him deep inside the mountain." He sighed. "It grieved us to do this to our patriarch, but we had no other course of action. I ask this favor of you, young warrior. Go to the aid of Darbus. I believe the spirits have guided you here. I, Gor Coron, need your help. On behalf of my entire clan, I ask for your aid."

Link simply nodded before accepting his pack back from Kas. The elder guided them to the entrance to the mines. He warned them of the dangers that had been developing within the mines, that there were creatures within that had not been there before. He also warned that there were many areas of the mine that had become unstable with everything that had happened. Kas’ eyes narrowed, knowing she would be likely be relying on her magic even more than she had thought, as they finally entered the mines.

The first chamber of the mines was probably the safest, although the path was narrow. There were a few torch slugs along the way that were easily eliminated. The most dangerous part of the chamber were the frequent lava geysers that would halt their passing. Kas would have to play the Serenade of Water to protect them from splashes of lava from the geysers as they passed. The door at the end of the first chamber was protected with a large steel grate. The mechanism to open the grate was a platform nearby that she helped Link climb onto. Even with their combined weight, the platform wouldn’t budge. Link sighed as he pulled his iron boots back out and put them on. It did the trick, and the platform quickly lowered, opening the way.

The next chamber opened into the center of Death Mountain. The Goron’s had constructed a series of platforms that led to different sections of the mine. In the center of the platforms, there was a crane like structure. It was currently idle, surrounded by bulbins. The way across to the crane was inaccessible, so they followed the platform off to the left, coming to another door. The chamber within contained a pair of dodongo’s. Kas put a hand on Link’s shoulder, stopping him as he withdrew his sword. “Watch for the fire they breathe. The tail is their weak point.” He nodded before heading for the first. Kas watched him a moment before heading for the second, timing her attacks when the creature would attempt to breathe its fire at her. Once the creatures were down, they continued through the next door. The door within sat on a slight ridge above a hot spring. The ridge itself was a strange color, not truly rock, and it had a strange glow. The blade at her hip pulled forward slightly as they stood there, figuring out how to reach the door. “It’s magnetic.” She whispered, mainly to herself as she glanced down at her dagger. She looked over at Link. “The boots. I’ll have to hold onto you, but I bet the pull would be enough to get us up there. They dropped into the spring and swam beneath the magnetic ledge. As soon as Link pulled on his iron boots, Kas was grabbing onto him as he was pulled up to the ridge. He struggled to move, but slowly walked them up the magnetic material to the top of the ridge before Kas let go.

Through the door was one of the Goron elders. As he spotted them, he started to speak. “Ah. I thought I felt a presence, but what a surprise to find a pair of young hylians. Word has come to me of you, and if Gor Coron has faith in you, then your hearts must be true. I am one of the four Goron elders. Gor Amoto is my name. You are heroic, young hylians. Please lend this tribe your power.” He handed Link something then. “That is one of three shards that form the key to the room where Darbus, our patriarch, is being held. Each of us elders has a piece. You should hurry along to find the other elders.” Link tucked the key shard into his bag. The elder indicated a ladder that would lead them to a different door than they entered, which would allow them passage deeper into the mine.


	22. Chapter 22

The path led them back through a higher level of the chambers they had already passed through, eventually returning them back to the center of Death Mountain. The level they were on, allowed them to reach the central crane. They quickly split, taking out the group of bulbins that were waiting for them. The crane allowed them to reach the next level of the mine. Within, there was another hot spring, with a fair number of tektite skimming the water’s surface. Beyond was a pair of beamos that were easy to avoid before going through the next door.

They had finally emerged into an area outside. There was water below the platforms surrounding them. Link strode forward as Kas heard the thrum of an arrow being released. "Get down!" She cried as she pushed him out of the way. Grunting as she bit down the pain from the arrow embedding in her shoulder, instead of Link's chest. He helped her move out of range, in an alcove behind a pillar. Sweat was quickly forming on her forehead, and she had started to shake slightly.

"Kas. What do I need to do?" Panic was barely contained in his voice. She pulled out one of her knives and held it to him with a shaking hand.

"You...have to lengthen...the wound." She panted with effort. "It's poisoned, so you need to move quickly. After you cut, you have to follow the shaft down with your fingers. Keep your gloves on because of the poison. When you reach the head of the arrow, you will have to pull the wound open as much as you can and remove the arrow. The goal is to minimize the damage the arrow does on the way out." At his hesitant look, she encouraged him. "You can do this. You have to." She closed her eyes as he nodded and moved toward her shoulder. She managed to keep her teeth clenched and only released a whimper as he cut her with her knife. When he started to dig down along the shaft though, she couldn't hold back her scream of pain. When he hesitated, she bit out. "Just keep moving. The faster you move, the less it will hurt." She let out another scream as he finally freed the arrow.

She slumped against the wall, panting hard, shaking heavily. "Flush it...with water. Then...you'll need to...pull it closed. Once...it's closed...give me one....of the healing draughts." He pulled out one of their canteens and poured it over the wound. She groaned with the action, but he continued on. She described how to pull the skin together so when the wound healed with the draught, it wouldn't scar as badly. She cried out with each motion, and every cry of pain tore at Link's heart. Finally, he pulled out one of the healing draughts. By then, Kas was too weak to take it from him, barely keeping her eyes open. He gently pulled her mask down, and held the bottle to her lips, tipping it so she would drink slowly. When it was finished, he watched her closely. The wound slowly knitted together, and some of the pain eased from her face, but she was still shaking, and sweating.

"The poison." She muttered. "The draught won't...fully work against it." She opened her eyes weakly. "It will...slow it down...enough, that I should....be able to aid you....against the possessed patriarch. But I....need time to...rest."

"I'll stay in her shadow to watch over her." Midna said quietly as she moved from Link's to Kas' shadow. Link slowly pulled her mask back into place, and took her hand in his, squeezing it for a moment, before he turned to explore the remaining couple of rooms in the mines, hopefully finding the final shards of the key.

He was ready for the archers this time and was able to dodge their shots. As he disappeared into the remaining rooms, Midna emerged from Kas' shadow. "I don't know how much good I can do like this, but I should be able to ease some of your pain." She closed her eyes and focused, feeding some of her magic into Kas. Her fever lessened some, and she stopped shaking as badly. Midna hadn't been able to remove all of the poison, but she was able to lessen it enough to let Kas fight the rest of it herself. Weak from the effort, she disappeared back into Kas' shadow.

He quickly came across the next elder. “Oh. Ah the young hylian. I am pleased to see you made it this far, brudda.” He tilted his head. “I thought there was supposed to be two of you?”

Link nodded. “My companion is injured. She is resting right now, waiting for me.”

The elder nodded. “I see. That is unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected. The mines are dangerous right now. I am called Gor Ebizo.” He handed Link his key shard. “Here, take this brudda. Your wounded companion reminds me of the dangers remaining in the mine. There is something that may help you. A weapon said to have been left behind by the hero of old. It is beyond price, so we have protected it through the generations. Now, when our tribe balances on the brink of ruin, it could aid in our salvation. If you continue on, you will come across it. Talk with the guard, and take it with the blessings of the Gorons.”

The next chamber he entered contained the aforementioned guard. As he started to rise aggressively, Link quickly explained who he was and why he was there. He also told the guard that the elder had told him to take the weapon he was protecting. The guard hesitated for a moment before allowing him to pass. The chest within contained a bow. He tested it out and was quite satisfied with the quality of the weapon. He knew it would let him take out the archers that had injured Kas. He moved through a chamber full of beamos, using the bow to destroy all of them, before coming across the final elder. He was quick to greet Link.

“Ah! You are here at last! I heard that you may pay a visit young hylian. I am farsighted in all things.” He pulled out his key shard. “Here you go, the last of the key shards. If you use that key, you can open the room where Darbus, the tribal patriarch, is being held. Who knows how powerful Darbus is in his new grotesque form, but I suppose I should trust your power, considering you came this far.”

When Link returned to Kas, he was surprised that she did look better. He pulled out the bow and took care of the archers that were waiting for them before offering her his hand. She was still obviously weakened, but she was at least able to rise to her feet. She wobbled once when she rose and caught Link's concerned glance. She met his eyes, shook her head, and slowly followed him toward the door that led to the patriarch.


	23. Chapter 23

Just inside the door, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Give me the bow." At his questioning look, she explained. "I'm still pretty weak from the poison. I won't be able to do anything up close without huge risk. I can at least cover you with the bow." At his nod, he handed it to her silently. They both then turned to face the massive shadow looming in the center of the chamber. Massive chains were attached to each limb, anchoring the possessed patriarch in place. Kas' eyes narrowed as she took in the creature. There seemed to be a mask or something like it sitting on the patriarch’s head. Link slowly stepped closer as she searched for a weak spot. As he drew near, a light glowed in the center of the mask.

The creature roared as it leaned closer to Link, pulling at its chains. As it struggled, its skin burst into flames, lighting up the chamber. With the sudden influx of light, Kas saw that the floor had many patches of the same magnetic material they had seen earlier in the mine. Before she could alert Link, the creature renewed its effort, pulling against its chains much harder, snapping the lengths off where they connected to the walls of the chamber. Biting off a curse, Link ran from the creature, attempting to put some distance between him and it while they tried to figure out how to fight it. The creature was quick to put its chains to use, swinging an arm toward Link, crashing the chain into the wall above his head as he dodged. Kas shifted in the shadows, stumbling once before she set herself into a new position. Quickly, she took aim at the glowing eye on the creature’s head.

With a howl, the creature clutched its head and staggered around. Kas quickly yelled to Link. "Link! The iron boots! Grab a chain!" He quickly caught Kas' plan and did as she told him. The magnetic pull of the boots helped keep him in place, causing the creature to stumble and fall to the ground. "Now, attack it's mask!" She called, moving to a new position to aid him, anticipating that it would not be enough to stop the creature yet. After a couple of solid hits with Link's sword, the creature climbed to its feet, roaring as it reignited itself. Link drew its attention toward Kas to let her line up another shot for the glowing eye. Link went for the chains as soon as the shot connected, once more bringing the creature to the ground. It rose once more, and set its sights on Kas, ignoring Link. The creature moved to swing its chain at Kas. She managed to get the shot off, but she was still too slow to avoid the chain that was swinging toward her. It hit her square in the chest, slamming her into the wall behind her, as the creature started stumbling once more.

As Kas crumpled to the floor, Link hesitated for a moment. "Kas!" When she didn't move when he screamed her name, he shook himself, and worked to finish off the creature. As soon as he dealt the final blow, shadows began to lift from the creature, coalescing into another fused shadow, and leaving the patriarch behind, unconscious on the floor. Link rushed to Kas' side. "Kas!" He cradled her against his chest. "C'mon Kas. Stay with me." His voice was panicked. After a few moments, she groaned weakly, cracking her eyes open a hair. "Link." She called his name weakly before groaning again and falling back into unconsciousness. Midna's shadow floated over to him. "I've got the fused shadow. I should be able to transport you back to the spirit's spring, but that is all I can do right now." At Link's nod, she pulled her power around them, and transported them to Eldin's spring. As soon as they arrived, she disappeared into his shadow. Link carried Kas deeper into the spring and laid her down, keeping her head above the water. He was so focused on Kas, that he didn't hear Renado approach. He gently put his hand on Link's shoulder. "Bring her inside. I'll prepare some healing draughts for her." Link nodded, picking Kas up and taking her to the room she had used before they went up Death Mountain. Her breathing was shallow when he laid her down.

Several minutes later, Renado brought in a pair of healing draughts. "We will probably have to help her drink these, but they will help."

Link frowned. "I'll do it. Sheikah aren't supposed to show their faces outside their village. I had to help her inside the mine, so I've seen her face already. She would not want anyone else to see though." Renado nodded and quietly left the room, closing the door behind him. Link reached over, gently pulling Kas' mask down. He gently pulled her head up and tipped a small amount of the draught into her mouth. She swallowed slowly. He repeated the process, a little at a time, until the first draught was completely gone. Her breathing slowly grew easier, and after a little while, he started the process again with the second draught. By the time he finished both of them, her breathing was much closer to normal, and her color was improving. He pulled her mask back into place and settled in to keep watch over her. Late into the night, he finally gave into his exhaustion and slumped onto the bed, her hand in his. Early in the morning, she finally stirred, groaning a bit as she opened her eyes. It took her a moment to realize the ceiling was that from the room in Kakariko. She started to sit up, when the weight across her lap caught her attention. When Link had finally fallen asleep, he not only held her hand in one of his, but also slumped across her lap. She felt her cheeks heat up with their position. Yawning, she laid her head back down and quickly fell back asleep.

Shortly after dawn, Renado knocked lightly on the door, hearing no reply, he quietly opened the door to see both Kas and Link still asleep. He set the tray of food down on the table and checked Kas. He could tell that she was significantly better than she had been the afternoon before. She responded to his touch, and slowly opened her eyes. "How do you feel?" He asked her warmly.

"Sore." She blinked a few times, taking stock of how everything felt. She still felt the weakness from the poison, so she directed her gaze back at him. "Do you happen to have anything for poison?" As his brows raised, she continued. "Bulblin archers in the mines. I took an arrow in the shoulder. It was coated in poison. I didn't have anything for it, so I was still weak when we took on the monster in the mines and took a pretty nasty hit."

"I see. Give me a moment, I may have just the thing." He quickly left the room. As he shut the door, Link finally stirred.

"Hey there, Hero." Kas called out quietly.

He shot up straight. "Kas! You're okay!"

She slowly nodded. "I suppose I have you to thank for that?"

He nodded, worry clear in his voice still. "After you took that hit, I wasn't sure you were going to make it. Renado had a couple of healing draughts. I had to help you drink them, again." He flushed as he said it, looking down. "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" She cocked her head to the side. "Link, I'm not angry that you saw my face. I'm pretty sure being alive balances out any problem I would have otherwise had with you seeing my face before I was ready."

About that time, Renado returned with an antidote that he thought would help with the poison. He instructed both of them to eat and recommended that Kas spend some time in the spirits spring. After he left, Kas finally sat up, swinging her feet off the bed. She locked eyes with Link, and deliberately pulled her mask down. He gasped, and quickly looked away, trying to respect her privacy. She quickly drank the antidote Renado had brought before reaching out to gently place a hand on Link’s cheek. She slowly turned his face back toward her own. “I appreciate you trying to respect everything, but…” She trailed off for a moment as he more closely inspected her face, a light blush rising to her cheeks at the intensity of his gaze. “What I’m trying to say is that I don’t want to hide my face from you any longer.”

With her words, pink dusted Link’s cheeks as well, and without really thinking about it, he leaned closer, stopping at half the distance between them. Her ruby gaze was locked on his as she slowly closed the distance between them, her eyes finally falling closed as she met his lips with her own. The kiss was chaste, and quickly over, Kas turning away with a heavy blush. Link quickly took her hand in his, squeezing gently before he stood, clearing his throat. “I’ll meet you at the spirits spring.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm still really struggling to get the water temple to come together, so updates are going to continue to be pretty slow as we catch up to that point in the story. Thanks for continuing to read! And thanks for continuing to be patient!


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